One of the top PSP research centers in the world is at the University of California San Francisco.  Two researchers there, Drs. Christine Walsh and Thomas Neylan, are leading a study of sleep in PSP and asked me to help them find suitable participants.

The goal is to test the effect of two sleep medications on the treatment of sleep disruption in PSP.  No in-person visits to San Francisco are required and no study staff would need to come to your home. 

Both medications, zolpidem (Ambien) and suvorexant (Belsomra), are approved by the FDA for sleep in general, but their benefit and side effects in people specifically with PSP remain unclear.  This study uses a crossover design so that each participant will receive the two medications and placebo over the 6-week course of the study. Sleep will be monitored by questionnaire and by two small, wearable devices to record movement and brain waves, respectively. All of the questionnaires will be done over the phone or by Zoom, with 1 to 3 calls each week for 6 weeks.

Participants must have a diagnosis of PSP, live anywhere in the United States, and have an available care partner to help provide information during the interviews.

You can find more information about the study by viewing a video here: https://pspsleepstudy.com or by emailing Dr. Walsh at: Christine.Walsh@ucsf.edu. Click here for the listing in clinicaltrials.gov.